Navratri

The cuts were deep
Piercing straight into my soul
They were not from a war which I fought
Which was neither an easy role.

My hands held the weapons
Which could never come as my defence.
There was not a bit of taint
As I was slowly draped in paint.

There were scratches and rough patches,
My eyes were fiery red.
There was a man beneath my foot
With no life and no hood.

There were voices echoing with laughter
And silent hymns of prayer.
I could feel the beat of gharba
And I knew that was my durbar.

There I stood tall in front of a huge crowd
Not just as a warrior,
But also as a mother and a daughter.

I realised that I was made of soil
And it was a work of toil.
I had no life,
Till I was carved with the knife.

There I found my soul in that soil
And love in their turmoil…

Note:

Hey, lovelies! I had written this four years ago during Durga Puja. For the uninitiated, In India, we celebrate a festival called Durga Puja for nine days aka Navaratri (nine nights to be precise)! People of every state celebrate this festival in their unique way. In the North-east, these nine days would be a grand affair. Huge pandals with the idol of Goddess Durga would be nothing less than a feast to our eyes! (If you’re planning to visit Kolkota, do plan it during the Puja holidays. Trust me you’ll not regret it.) This is something they prep up for and look forward to the whole year. In the south, we celebrate it by keeping Golu. It is basically clay dolls arranged in steps of 3, 5 or 7 (basically any odd number). The women from each house invite other women to their house and give them something called vethalaipaaku and kungumam! In the north, they celebrate it by playing garba and dandiya! So, Navratri is starting tomorrow and I’m excited already! Sadly, Corona has locked us all in our homes. And I’ll definitely miss going to the Kali Badi and having their hot bhog after a long night of pandal hopping. Nevertheless, let’s keep the festive vibes and our spirits up!